Pune:
A car caught fire near Vaishali restaurant on Fergusson College road on Monday morning. The 40-year-old car owner, Kailash Suresh Gupta, had a narrow escape as passers-by pulled him out of the car after a struggle.
Gupta got locked inside his Volkswagen Vento and was saved by other commuters, who pulled him out after breaking the windows of the car.
The incident took place at 7.42 am and caused panic among morning walkers. As Gupta had his seatbelt on, the people who rushed to his rescue had to struggle to get him out, said an eyewitness. Gupta's brother Rakesh the car company later took the vehicle in its possession and officials were trying to ascertain the fault that caused the fire.
"We have been informed by company officials that company authorities from Germany will be flying in to India to ascertain what went wrong," Gupta said. Rakesh said his brother had purchased the car not even a year ago and had recently got it serviced.
"Commuters present on FC Road saved my brother," Rakesh said. "Passers-by broke the glass to pull Gupta out from the burning car as he was trapped inside and was unable to get out." Gupta sustained 60 per cent injuries on his face, hand and legs. He was undergoing treatment at Surya Hospital.
The Deccan police said Gupta, a grocery shop owner in Kasarwadi, had gone for his daily exercise on the University of Pune campus. Later he had stopped over for breakfast at Vaishali. As he started off again from there, his car caught fire.
The fire brigade rushed to the spot and the flames were doused in about 10 minutes. The Deccan police said the fire was caused by a short circuit and as the car got locked up it became difficult for Gupta to come out.